Chemical product resembling celluloid and process for producing the same.



UNITED swarms PA ENT OFFICE.

FRIEDRICH RASCHIG, OF LUDWIGSHAFEN-ON-THE-RHINE, GERMANY.

CHEMICAL PRGD'UGT BEBBMBLING OELLULOID AND PEOGESS FOR PRODUCING m 8m.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. e, 1908',

Application fled June 27, 1900. In!!! No. 323,721

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRIEDRICH RASCHIG, manufacturer, a subject of the German Empteror, residing at Ludwigshafen on the hine, Germany, have invented a certain new and useful Chemical Product Resembling' Celluloid and Process for Producing the Came, of which the following is a specitication.

For many years manufacturers of celluloid have endeavored to replace camphor, which was considered absolutely necessa for their purposes, by other chemical ro ucts, partly because camphor is gradual y be coming more ex ensive, and partly because the peculiar smel of camphor, which somewhat adheres even to the best celluloid, is an obstacle to the general use of cellul id.

None of the substitutes hitherto proposed has succeeded in supersedin the camphor, the celluloid made by their aid was much inferior to that produced with camphor, as re gards hardness. suppleness, elasticity and transparency. The reason for this want of success seems to be, that a substance which, when worked u with nitro cellulose, is to yield a good celluloid, must possess the following ualities:-Firstly it must dissolve nitro-cel ulose, and secondly it musthave a certain chemical afiinity to nitrocellulose, which keeps the two materials permanent] together. The former quality is found with many organic compounds which have been proposed as camphor substitutes; all of them,

iowcvci', seem to luck the second quality, which hitherto has been observed in cani- )llOl alone. I have discovered, that a similar chemical atlinity exists also between nitro cellulose and certain organic compounds, whose constitution is similar to that of camphor, that is to say, the products obtained by the reduction of phenol, cresols and xylenols, which are known to science under the names 'of cyclohexaiiols and cyclohexanones.

If we compare the constitution of the 1- methyl cyclohexanol (2), which is also known as hexa-hydro-o-cresol (a) with the constitution of Bbrneo-camphor (b) circa. con, 11,0 \citoii mo l on.on a) 5 b) cn,- -on,l i

11.0 on, w g *cm it will be seen, that the differ only by the remnant CH, C- C and the same is the case with re ard to the 1-methyl-cyclohexanone (2) an ordinary camphor,

These two cyclo-cor'npounds, which are obtained in mixture with each other by heating ortho-cresol with hydrogen in the presence of metallic nickel, possess a strong solvent power especially for nitro-cellulose, and also a tendency to remain united with it. Moreover, they do notpossess the unpleasant smell of camphor, but an agreeable odor resembling that of peppermint. The are therefore eminently suitable for rep acin the camphor and yield a beautiful hard an transparent or translucent celluloid, which has a faint but pleasant odor.

The same advantageous properties are possessed by the iroducts obtainable in a similar manner by t 0 reduction of 'henol, metaand para-cresol and the xylenos.

The different hexanones and 'hexanols may, of course, be repared separately and then combined wit nitro-cellulose, but as all of them yield :1 00d celluloid, the best and cheapest metho of manufacture consists in taking commercial crude carbolic acid, which consists of a mixture of phenol with the three cresols and with some xylenol, to subject the said acid to reduction and using the resultant mixture of cyclo-hexanone and cyclo-hexanol with their homologucs without pre ious separation, for the manufacture of celluloid b means of nitrocellulose. Mixtures of t ese cyclo-bodies with cam'phor may, of course, be used for the same purpose, that is to say, if desired a ortion only of the camphor in the cello oid may be re laced by the new compounds mentioned a ove.

What I claim is 1. The improvement in the manufacture of chemical products resembling celluloid, which consists in replacin the camphor by cyclo-hexanone, substantia ly as described.

2. The improvement in the manufacture of chemical products resembling celluloid, which consists in replacing a portion of the camphor by cycle described.

3. As a new chem -hexanone, substantially as nitro-oellulose, camp substantially as desc ical product, a hard, In testimonywhereofl hor andcyclo-hexanone,

have set my hand transfmrent and slightly aromatic body rehereunto in the presence of two subscribing 5 semb in leellulotild allldh obtainable bfrom witnesses.

nitro-ce u use an eye 0- exanone. s11 stantinny as described I I FRIEDRICH RASOHIG.

s a new chemical product, a hard, Witnesses: trans arent and slightly aromatic body re- R..Gmac'n, 10 semb mg celluloid, and obtainable from J. NIVEN-JAOK. 

